Astros, Rockies Swap Paulino & BarmesBy Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 18, 2010 at 12:29pm CST]The Astros acquired Clint Barmes from the Rockies for Felipe Paulino, according to the team. GM Ed Wade says he pursued Barmes for his defensive versatility and gap power. The Rockies, who were not necessarily going to offer Barmes arbitration, get something in return for the 31-year-old.

Barmes was a non-tender candidate heading into his final season of arbitration eligibility. After hitting 23 homers in 2009, he hit just 8 homers this year and his batting line fell to .235/.305/.351. Barmes earned $3.33MM in 2010 and figures to pocket $4MM or so in 2011.

Paulino, 27, posted a 5.11 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 91 2/3 innings for the Astros this year. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason (as a Super Two). In each of the past three seasons, his average fastball velocity has surpassed 95 mph. Paulino struggles against lefties, but is considerably more effective against right-handed hitters. mlbtradrumors.com

Well, I think Houston realizes that they have a huge hole at SS and think that Barmes might be able to fill it.

Looking at the trades that have gone down so far this "winter" you'd think that Houston could have got Barmes for an A-level lottery ticket, not someone who could be groin-grabbingly good like Paulino.

They probably could have let Paulino be a utility infielder in his off-days and been much better off. Another example of a bad team shooting themselves in the foot by trying to shake things up. They already have decent pitching, but I'm sure if they wanted to give up on Paulino they could have at least tried him in the bullpen first. Barmes is one of the few examples of a lifetime Rockie that has horrible batting numbers. His career slash line away from Coors: 224/266/352. Oh boy... at least he's a decent SS.